


Sleep is for the Weak

by Satellites_and_Stars



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satellites_and_Stars/pseuds/Satellites_and_Stars
Summary: In which Alex prioritizes music over basic human needs.
Kudos: 10





	Sleep is for the Weak

With the release of their latest album, All Time Low had really taken off, and Alex couldn’t have been happier. Not only was he living the dream, but he was also doing it with his best friends in the whole world. He was determined to keep this momentum going. The album they had out now was good, yes, but Alex knew he could do better. So between interviews, meet and greets, shows, and parties, he was never not curled up somewhere with a notebook, lost in thought, occasionally scribbling down some lyrics, crossing them out, and writing new ones.

Jack would be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned. He was ecstatic about the success of their album, but he was only too aware of the effect it was having on Alex. The guy lived and breathed music which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he was beginning to put the band before himself, and it was taking its toll.

It was around ten in the morning when Jack rolled out of bed and made his way to the front of their tour bus in search of food. He was unsurprised to see Alex sitting on the sofa, gazing out the window, absentmindedly tapping a pen against his lips. Jack couldn’t help but notice the dark circles beneath his eyes. It was a wonder he was still able to function.

Jack began rummaging through cabinets, looking for a box of cereal. “Did you get _any_ sleep last night?” he asked. No response. He looked over at Alex, who was still staring off into the distance. “Alex?” Silence. Jack walked over to the sofa, picked up a pillow, and threw it as hard as he could.

Alex nearly jumped out of his seat when the cushion hit him right in the face. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“I asked you if you slept at all,” Jack said, returning to his hunt for food.

Alex sank down into the couch. “Yeah, I got a few hours.”

“I call bullshit.” Jack finally found the cereal he was looking for and poured himself a small bowl. “Have you at least eaten anything recently?”

“We got that pizza, remember?”

Jack sighed. “Alex, you dipshit, that was the day before yesterday.” He shoved the bowl of cereal into Alex’s hands. “Here, eat this. And then go take a nap. Please.”

Alex stared down at the cereal, then up at Jack.

“What.”

“I need a spoon.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack pulled a spoon out of a drawer and tossed it to Alex. Under normal circumstances, he would never be this uptight, but someone had to take care of Alex if he wasn’t going to do it himself. He took a seat at the kitchen table, fully intending to sit there until Alex finished the whole bowl. “So what’ve you been doing in there anyway?” Jack asked, gesturing to Alex’s notebook.

Alex’s eyes lit up as he quickly swallowed his mouthful of cereal. “Been working on a new song,” he said enthusiastically. “It’s almost done, but I’m really proud of this one. I think people are really gonna like it.” He immediately dove into further details and other ideas he’d come up with for their next album, the bowl of cereal now completely forgotten. He looked so happy and sounded so excited to share his music with everyone that Jack couldn’t find it in himself to tell Alex that he really needed to take a break from writing.

Shit hit the fan only a couple of days later.

It was during the middle of a show when Jack glanced over at Alex and right away knew that something was wrong. Alex was drenched in sweat and looked ready to pass out. But he also lived for these concerts and was clearly giving everything he had to keep going. Jack admired the dedication but didn’t want Alex to push himself so hard that he jeopardized his own wellbeing.

As the song they were playing came to a close, Jack slowly made his way across the stage to where Alex was. He looked even worse up close, beyond exhausted with glassy eyes. Jack leaned in close. “You good?”

Alex turned and gave him a big smile. “Yeah,” he said breathlessly. “C’mon, next song.”

Jack looked at Alex with concern written all over his face, then turned to Rian and Zack, who had also noticed that Alex wasn’t looking too good, and shrugged before jumping back into the set.

When the show finally ended, Jack was too preoccupied with tossing his leftover picks into the crowd to notice Alex stagger offstage. It took a few minutes for him to realize that Alex was gone, but once he did, Jack rushed off to look for him, all the happiness melting away into worry.

It didn’t take very long to find him. Alex was leaning against the wall just outside their dressing room, and Jack could hear his ragged breathing from across the hall. “Alex?” he called out uncertainly. He wasn’t entirely sure what to do in this situation. Did Alex want him there beside him? Or did he just need room to breathe? His decision was made for him, however, when Alex slid down the wall onto his knees. Jack ran over and dropped down in front of him, unaware of the small crowd of people gathering at the other end of the hallway.

There was a sinking feeling in Jack’s chest as he placed his hands on Alex’s shoulders to keep him from falling over. “Alex? Hey, what’s wrong?”

Alex didn’t respond, but his eyes fluttered shut, and his head tilted downward.

Jack held him close, looking around helplessly when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Zack and Rian were standing there looking equally as distraught.

“We should get him back to the bus,” Rian said quietly. “He passed out from exhaustion. He just needs to sleep for a while.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed with a small nod. Zack made a move to help, but Jack brushed him off. “It’s fine, I got this.” He’d carried Alex around plenty of times before and had no problem lifting him up. It probably helped that Alex was noticeably lighter than Jack remembered.

He carefully brought Alex back to their tour bus and laid him down on the sofa. Alex didn’t look as bad as he had earlier, and his breathing had evened out, so Jack didn’t think he needed to be rushed to the hospital or anything.

After realizing that he’d done all he could do, Jack sat down on the floor with his back to the couch. He noticed Alex’s arm hanging off the side and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. He knew that he was probably overreacting and that Alex would be fine, but it was absolutely terrifying watching your best friend go down like that. Jack also knew that he probably smelled and was in desperate need of a shower, but he was emotionally exhausted and made the executive decision to fall asleep right there on the floor.

Sometime later, a soft knocking on the door pulled Jack from unconsciousness. As expected, Alex was still totally out of it.

“You can come in,” he called out.

The door opened, and Zack walked in.

“Hey,” Jack said with a yawn.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay.”

Zack came over and took a seat across from Jack. “Are you doing alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just…mad at myself, I guess. For letting it get to this point.” Jack frowned. “We’re gonna have to cancel our next couple of shows, aren’t we.”

Zack nodded. “Probably.”

“Alex is gonna be pissed.”

“He did this to himself,” Zack said. “It’s not your fault. You know that, right?”

Jack was still convinced that it was at least partially his fault but was thankfully saved from having to answer the question since Alex chose that moment to wake up. “Alex? You awake?”

Alex groaned and rolled over. “What the fuck happened?” he asked, voice muffled by the couch cushion.

“Dude, you passed out after the show.”

“Oh.”

Zack took the opportunity to get up and get a glass of water, which he offered to Alex. 

Jack, meanwhile, realized that he had been holding Alex’s hand this entire time and finally let go so that he could sit up.

“Sorry I fucked everything up,” Alex said dejectedly, taking a small sip of water.

“Nah, you didn’t fuck it all up,” Zack said, patting him on the back. “I’m gonna go find Rian and let him know you’re alright. Be right back.”

Once Zack had left, Jack turned to Alex, who knew right away that a serious conversation was coming.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he said, avoiding eye contact.

“Alex, you gotta take care of yourself. We can’t have you passing out left and right just because you’re too busy working on music for basic human necessities.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got that now. No more staying up all night and forgetting to eat. I learned my lesson.”

“You promise?” Jack asked sincerely.

“On my life,” Alex reassured him. “Can I go sleep in my bunk now? I’m still tired. Feel like I could sleep for a whole week.”

“Yeah, come on,” Jack said, standing up. “I kinda want to go back to bed too. It’s been a stressful day.” He led the way further back into their bus, where they both collapsed into their respective bunks.

“Hey, Jack?”

Jack looked over to see Alex holding his hand out towards him, opening and closing it while looking expectantly at Jack.

He rolled his eyes, then scooted to the edge of his bunk and took Alex’s hand.

Now content, Alex relaxed and shut his eyes. “Goodnight, Jack.”

“Goodnight…oh yeah, and I have full authority to confiscate your notebook now whenever I think I need to.”

“Wait, what?”

“Go to sleep, stupid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Two fics in one day? What is this madness?? Anyways, thanks for reading! This was another request that I had a lot of fun writing! If you would like to request a story, please feel free to comment below or shoot me a message on tumblr @satellites-n-stars :)


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